Instant Pot Bacon and Beer Cheese Cauliflower Soup {21 Day Fix}

This healthy Instant Pot Bacon and Beer Cheese Cauliflower Soup is a bowl full of cozy and so perfect for meal prepping!

Hey guys! So what’s new with you? Over here the current status is full and happy, because I literally just finished off a bowl of this creamy, dreamy, cheesy soup. Aside from that… we had a really great Valentine’s day, there were lots of flowers, chocolates and delicious food that we all cooked together. We never go out for Valentine’s day (because we usually don’t have anyone to watch the kids and the busiest restaurant night of the year isn’t the most fun time to take the littles out to dinner) but honestly I really love getting in the kitchen together and making something special that we all enjoy.

But let’s get down to it. This recipe, you guys. I’m in love. I don’t know if you’re sick of me posting soups lately but it’s like a freaking disease. I just can’t stop. Especially these super creamy, crazy comforting soups – other faves that we’ve been making a TON lately are my Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup and my Broccoli Cheese Soup, if you haven’t tried these yet, you NEED to get to it! They’re seriously ridiculous (and they both have IP directions, too, btw!)

Lets take just a minute to talk about the beer ↑ in this beer cheese soup. You guys, I’m no beer connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I don’t even really like it very much, so I did a little research as to what I should use in a beer cheese soup, dip or whatever. What I came away with is that a lager is best, so that’s what I used and it came out great! Another tip that I read was that you shouldn’t use an IPA because it’ll come out bitter, just fyi.

For my 21 Day Fixers:

I made this so each serving uses half of a blue container, but if you want it extra cheesy (and who doesn’t?), feel free to double the cheddar and count each serving as 1 blue! Oh and you know what else?! For those of you who find it really difficult to get those green containers in, each serving of this indulgent-tasting soup counts as 2 Greens and I promise it doesn’t taste like veggies at all!!

For my non-Instant Potters:

Even though this is billed as an Instant Pot recipe, because I love you beautiful people, I included stove top directions while I was at it. #noIPnoproblem – But whether you’re using an Instant Pot or not, this soup couldn’t be easier and I know you’re going to love it.

If you make this recipe be sure to snap a pic and tag me @thefoodieandthefix or use #thefoodieandthefix on Instagram so I can check it out! It makes me ridiculously happy to see what you guys are making 🙂

Instant Pot Bacon and Beer Cheese Cauliflower Soup {21 Day Fix}

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

8 slices of turkey bacon, chopped

1 Tbs unsalted butter

2 cups sliced onions (about 1 large onion)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup of your favorite beer - a lager is a great choice for this!

3 cups of chicken broth

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chopped carrots (about 2 medium)

9 cups chopped cauliflower (1 1/2 pounds)

1 tsp generic spicy ground mustard (or any mustard you have on hand, but this is my fave)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Your favorite Fix approved hot sauce, to taste (if you're following 21 Day Fix, if not, use any hot sauce you like!) - you could also leave this out of the pot and just add it to each bowl so each person can customize the heat level!

chopped green onions, for serving (optional, but delicious!)

Instructions

Instant Pot Instructions:

Spray the lining of your instant pot with olive oil or coconut oil cooking spray. Press the saute button, add the chopped bacon and cook until browned. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon. (I like to stick the bacon in a 250 degree oven afterwards to keep it hot and get them even crispier!)

Add the butter and onions and cook for several minutes or until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute. De-glaze with the beer, making sure you get up any browned bits in the bottom of the pot. Then add the broth, salt, carrots & cauliflower. Turn off the saute function, close the lid and set to manual for 4 minutes. When it's finished cooking, you can immediately release the pressure.

Remove the lid and blend the soup until smooth and creamy - you can either use a stick blender, like the one shown below, or transfer the contents to a regular blender (depending on the size of your blender, you may need to do this in batches). Next, stir in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and shredded cheese until cheese is melted. Add in the hot sauce to taste if you're using it and check seasonings. You can either stir in the bacon or top each bowl it. Garnish with some green onions if you like and enjoy!

Stove Top Instructions:

Spray the bottom of a large pot with olive oil cooking spray and cook the turkey bacon until browned. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon. (I like to stick the bacon in a 250 degree oven afterwards to keep it hot and get them even crispier!)

Add the butter and onions and cook for several minutes or until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute. De-glaze with the beer, making sure you get up any browned bits in the bottom of the pot. Then add the broth, salt, carrots & cauliflower and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil and cook until the cauliflower is SUPER tender, so that it'll easily mash.

Remove the lid and blend the soup until smooth and creamy - you can either use a stick blender, like the one shown below, or transfer the contents to a regular blender (depending on the size of your blender, you may need to do this in batches). Next, stir in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and shredded cheese until cheese is melted. Add in the hot sauce to taste if you're using it and check seasonings. You can either stir in the bacon or top each bowl it. Garnish with some green onions if you like and enjoy!

Comments

Thank you for this! I made it with a milk stout – which gave it a very strong beer flavor – but that’s fine by me as I’m quite the aficionado. Turned it a less appetizing wheat-color, but tasted delicious. Great way to get my veggies!!! :).

Hey Rebecca! It’s probably more like 2. It’s about a pound and a half after removing the stem, I would probably get about 2 lbs of cauliflower to be on the safe side (to give some wiggle room for the stem being removed and it getting trimmed). Hope you love it!